Plasterer from Northampton threatened to kill man over £60

A plasterer from Northampton has been jailed for three years after he admitted threatening to kill his friend during a three-week long blackmail campaign.

Jamie Doris, aged 25, of Mortons Bush, Wootton, was still on licence as part of a four-year sentence he received for robbery when he began threatening a man who he believed owed him £60, in January this year.

The court heard Doris telephoned the man to inform him of the debt and later told him he would pass it on to other people who “enforce debts”.

Marcus Harry, prosecuting, said Doris continued to telephone the man on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times.

Mr Harry said: “Doris told the man there was a £100 a day interest on his debt. He told him he was going to ‘batter’ him and that he was going to get his ‘head kicked in’.”

On February 15, Doris told the man the debt was now £1,800 and he made 15 phone calls and followed them up with text messages stating he was going to kill his friend if he went to the police and got him arrested.

Mr Harry said the victim changed the sim card on his mobile phone in an effort to break contact with him but Doris used WhatsApp to continue. Doris made his final threat on February 19 when he called the man’s landline and threatened to burn his house down.

Doris, who pleaded guilty to blackmail, was jailed for three years and four months.